When you’re in the grocery store, do you think about the farmers and ranchers, processors, distributors and retailers who bring you your food? America’s food system is big. It employs nearly 24 million people—more than 14 percent of American workers—and generates roughly 12 percent of the total gross domestic product. Farmers and ranchers manage close to half of America’s land, making agriculture the nation’s single largest land use.
Given its size, it is no surprise that the food system affects more than the food on your plate. It influences public health, the well-being of your community and the quality of the environment. America’s food system is the safest and most productive in the world. But will it continue to sustain us?
What can be done to improve the food system? Federal farm policy is the place where these complex issues come together.
